Lady Bird and Murdock

     In class we have in large part focused on the Schmidt model of the heroine's journey. I wanted to see for myself an example of the Murdock model, so I sought a film that would enlighten me to it. Eventually, I ended up on the film "Lady Bird," a story of reconciliation between mother and daughter- a perfect match for Murdock's more internal template. In this post, I will detail how each story beat maps onto a step of Maureen Murdock's heroine's journey, using direct details from the film as well as my interpretation of them.

    In the beginning of the film, it almost opens to the separation from the feminine. In the first few minutes of the film an argument breaks out between Christine (Lady Bird) and her mother over college and a desire to leave California- which in Murdock's template, can be interpreted as a desire to detach from what she sees her mother representing: femininity. And when that femininity is associated with staying in California, it serves as something to be fought against. Following this, she has an increasing desire to align herself with the 'masculine' values- ones that go against the grain of her mother. For Lady Bird, this involves her desire to align herself with wealthier students, resenting her mother's financial inability to support her grandiose ambitions. At this point in the film, it does seem to be working in entirety as she begins to make connections and distances further and further from her mother. She attempts to validate herself through others, most notably thorough men by dating Danny and Kyle. 

    Of course, the next step in Murdock's template is the road of trials. When she sees her boyfriend Danny kiss a boy, she is absolutely distraught by this, feeling an attack on her newly created identity. This sends her down a spiral as she tries desperately to find herself in her world which is coming apart at the seams. She begins to associate herself with more popular students, exaggerating the wealth of her own family and acting out. She feels happy, for a time as she begins to involve herself ever deeper with the "upper echelon" of her school. This climaxes at a party, where Lady Bird kisses Kyle and has sex with him, only to feel empty and depleted afterwards. This represents both the illusory boon of success and the road of trials, and is subsequently followed by a meeting with the goddess. This is represented where after said incident with Kyle, she goes to her Marion (her mother) for support and she gives it to her with no questions asked. 

   The next step is reconnect with the feminine- which in Lady Bird's case is done through both heeding her mothers cry for her to apply to colleges close to home, and in ditching Kyle and his friends to hang out with her old friend Julie, rekindling the friendship she had sacrificed for popularity. Moreover, she reconciles with her masculine ambitions when she makes it off the waitlist for her prestigious university in New York. As she leaves, while her mother is initially unable to bring herself to say goodbye Lady Bird finds all the letters her mother wrote her that she could never finish. The movie ends with at last a true union with the feminine- as Lady Bird tearfully calls her mother and thanks her for all the help she has given her throughout her life.